Mosquitoes have an extraordinary ability to target humans far away and fly straight to their unprotected skin. Regrettably, mosquitoes can do more than cause an itchy wound. Some mosquitoes spread several serious diseases, including Dengue, yellow fever and malaria.
Over one million people worldwide die from these mosquito-borne diseases each year. New research now shows how mosquitoes choose who to bite.
Mosquitoes need blood to survive. They are attracted to human skin and breath. They smell the carbon dioxide gas -- which all mammals breathe out. This gas is how mosquitoes know that a warm-blooded creature is nearby.But mosquitoes also use their eyes and sense of touch.
This suggested to the researchers that a mosquito's sense of smell is more important in the search for food.
Matt DeGennaro is a scientist at Florida International University. He says understanding a mosquito’s way of finding its host could help prevent those insects from biting. He is working to create genetic changes that affect the mosquito's sense of smell. "We need to know which genes control this process at all these different stages. And then we can use that knowledge to design a new perfume that could block the mosquito's sensation of us or could trigger certain receptors that signal danger to the mosquito and then cause them to stay away."